BANNOCKBURN, Ill. — TDI Farms of Westphalia, Michigan has signed an agreement to purchase 24 DeLaval Voluntary Milking System robots citing advantages in animal welfare, employee development and the farm’s longevity as main catalysts for the project.
Owners Frank, Paul and Bryant Treirweiler expect to milk 1,500 cows at the new site.
TDI Farms selected DeLaval in part due to their long-standing relationship with the local dealer, DeLaval Dairy Service in Michigan.
The family trusts the support they will receive as the project moves forward.
They also cite add-on technologies, such as Herd Navigator, DelPro Software, Smart Pulsation and Body Condition Scoring, which they expect to add value once the VMS robots come online.
In addition to the 24 milking robots, TDI Farms has also agreed to purchase DeLaval activity monitoring tags for the entire herd, 24 swinging cow brushes, and teat dips and detergents developed by DeLaval specifically for VMS farms.
The new facility will also use DelPro farm management software to record, for example quarter milk yields, robot visits and heats, helping TDI Farms make accurate and timely decisions to maintain the health of their herd.
